Calgary volunteer-run gardens struggle to meet demand for fresh produce

It's harvest time and volunteers whogrow food for low-income Calgariansare seeing their produce disappearing as fast as they can pull it out of the ground, largely due to theslumping economy.

Grow Calgary started three years ago, producingfresh producefor the Calgary Food Bank. Now it offers free carrots, potatoes, beets and other vegetablesto more than 20 different agencies, including Inn from the Cold and the Calgary Drop-In Centre.

"We'd rather people had access to superior nutrition,not because of a downturn in the economy, but because they genuinely wanted access. Now they absolutely need it," says Paul Hughes, executive director ofGrow Calgary.

This year theCalgary Food Bank has nearly doubled the number of monthly hampers it provides to people.It went fromabout 2,500 to more than5,000, with that number only expected to grow.

"When we track the reasons for coming to the food bank, the majority of our clients are saying they haven't had an income in 30 days, they have lost their job,their (employment insurance)has run out. People are using up every resource they can," says spokespersonShawnaOgston.

Between January 2015 and this January, the Calgary Drop-in Centresaw a 50 per cent increase in the cost of the food it buys.

"So this relationship with Grow Calgary is really helping us to bring down our food costs, and also to be able deliver delicious and nutritious food, which for us is so important," says Jordan Hamilton, spokesman for theCalgary Drop-In Centre.

The Calgary Food Bank getsfresh produce from a number of different gardens,including one on a plot of land owned byAltalink in the southeast. This year it was a record harvest at the garden,with volunteers diggingup 44,000 lbs of food, which translates into 44,000 meals through the food bank's emergency hamper program.

"It's really awesome actually how much food we're pulling off the field that's going to the Calgary Food Bank. It's just phenomenal that way" saysBrentSaulnier, a volunteer at the garden.

Hughes says the 11 acres of land set aside for Grow Calgary'sgarden is along thetransportation utility corridor, which the organizationleases from the municipalandprovincial governments.

He continues to push foreven more unused greenspace to be set aside and used to grow food for those in need.